Martin Kanert becomes the new managing director of german association VdL

Wednesday, 27 November 2019

The German coatings industry has a new Managing Director: Martin Kanert (57) will take over the leadership of the industry association VdL with over 200 member companies as of December 1, 2019.

In December, Martin Kanert becomes the new managing director of german association VdL. Source: VdL.

Martin Kanert, an experienced association manager in the paint industry, takes over the management of the offices in the Frankfurt VCI building. The chemist, who holds a doctorate, was born in Münster in 1962 and, after his studies, initially worked as a research assistant at the Institute for Inorganic Chemistry at RWTH Aachen University.

From VdMi to VdL

In 1995 he moved to the Verband der Mineralfarbenindustrie (VdMi) as a technical consultant, in 1998 he was appointed head of department for the printing ink industry and later deputy managing director of the VdMi. After the merger of the Printing Ink and Varnish Association in 2009, Kanert strengthened the management of the new VdL, remained true to his tasks for the printing ink industry, but also took care of the interests of the powder coating industry in the VdL.

Managing the business of EuPIA

For printing inks, he has also been active at the European level for years: since 2006, Kanert has been managing the business of the European Printing Ink Association EuPIA, a division of the European Colour Association CEPE. In Brussels he has also led the "Packaging Ink Joint Industry Task Force (PIJITF)" group, an association of companies from the printing ink industry, packaging and food manufacturers to optimize food safety.